Automobile

ABSTRACT

The invention provides an automobile capable of production in very small size without sacrificing driver comfort while retaining capability of carrying a passenger or, alternatively, a large load or a substantial quantity of belongings by omitting a dividing wall between the driver and passenger compartment and the trunk compartment of the vehicle, by providing those compartments with a common and generally level floor in which a driver&#39;&#39;s seat well is formed utilizing an area as large as necessary to insure his maximum comfort and which, in the small sized vehicle, extends halfway or more of the distance across the interior of the driver and passenger compartment. The floor over the passenger position covers a second well in which a passenger&#39;&#39;s seat is installed at a position rearward of the most rearward driving position of the driver&#39;&#39;s seat. In the preferred embodiment, the floor over the passenger&#39;&#39;s seat well is formed in part by a convertible toeboard and by elements of the passenger&#39;&#39;s seat.

United States Patent Buchrig I 1 Sept. 26, 1972 1 AUTOMOBILE [72]Inventor: Gordon M. Buehrig, Laguna Hills,

Calif.

[73] Assigneez Ford Motor Company, Dearborn,

Mich.

[221 Filed: Aug. 19, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 64,985

[52] US. Cl ..,.296/64, 296/66 [51] Int. Cl. ..B60n 1/10 [58] Field ofSearch ..296/64, 65 R, 66, 69, 28 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 3,408,103 10/1968 Hewitt ..296/66 3,059,960 10/1962 Komorowskiet al. ...296/65 R 1,887,947 11/1932 Savale ..296/66 X 2,502,061 3/1950Radford ..296/66 2,642,120 6/1953 Cochran ..296/65 R X 3,317,238 5/1967Smoll ..296/69 3,336,071 8/1967 Neale et al ..296/64 1,372,148 3/1921Lancia ..296/64 X 1,543,818 6/1925 Belden ..296/65 R OTHER PUBLlCATlONSJaguar XK-E Advertisement, Received February 4,

. Primary Examiner-Benjamin Hersh Assistant Examiner-Leslie J. PapernerAttorney-Keith L. Zerchling and John J. Roethel [57] ABSTRACT Theinvention provides an automobile capable of production in very smallsize without sacrificing driver comfort while retaining capability ofcarrying a passenger or, alternatively, a large load or a substantial.quantity of belongings by omitting a dividing wall between the driverand passenger compartment and the trunk compartment of the vehicle, byproviding those compartments with a common and generally level floor inwhich a drivers seat well is formed utilizing an area as large asnecessary to insure his maximum comfort and which, in the small sizedvehicle, extends halfway or more of the distance across the interior ofthe driver and passenger compartment. The floor over the passengerposition covers a second well in which a passengers seat is installed ata position rearward of the most rearward driving position of thedriver's seat. In the preferred embodiment, the floor over thepassengers seat well is formed in part by a convertible toeboard and byelements of the passengers seat.

2 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEUSEPZS I972 SHEET 1 [IF 4 INVENTORGORDON M. BUEHRIG 1 {d TORNEYS PATENTEDSEPZS I972 SHEET 2 [IF 4 INVENTORGORDON M. BUEHRIG ATTORNEYS PATENTEDSEPZS I972 SHEET 3 BF 4 INVENTORGORDON M. BUEHRIG ATTORNEYS PATENTED I972 3 6 94 025 saw u or 4 INVENTORGORDON BUEHRIG ATTORNEYS AUTOMOBILE This invention relates toimprovements in automobiles.

Among the functions of an automobile is the transportation of people andthings or loads. It is a task of the automobile designer to accomplishthese purposes as efficiently as possible and the difficulty with whichthat purpose is accomplished increases greatly as the size of thevehicle is reduced. The grocery bags, brief cases, golfing equipment andthe other articles that must be carried do not diminish in size. Nordoes the driver or his-passenger diminish in size. In creating prior artautomobiles, designers have generally attempted to accommodate thedemand for small total vehicle size by reducing the size of seats andstorage spaces along with size reduction of other elements of theautomobile. That approach results in loss of both comfort and function.In addition, these efforts to reduce vehicle size by shrinking thevehicle down closer to the occupants have often resulted in a vehiclewhose greenhouse and body are disproportionate whereby aesthetic appealand marketability of the product is sacrificed.

It is an object of the invention to provide an interior arrangement forautomobiles which overcomes these disadvantages. It is an object toprovide an automobile which can be produced in very small size withoutsacrificing the room and comfort available for the driver, which isconvenient for carrying things, which can carry a passenger comfortablyand whichenhances opportunity for incorporating aesthetic appeal. Theinvention takes advantage of the fact that automobiles are called uponto carry either a passenger or a large load more frequently than theyare called upon to carry both a passenger and a large load. Its objectis to provide a small vehicle which is convertible from passenger toload carrying capacity so that the compromise is made in terms of timerather than in space. The station wagon is convertible in this sense butstation wagons are always larger than their passenger car counterpartshaving a similar wheelbase.

Current estimates place the average number of occupants of automobilesat 1.8. That is the average; many vehicles are driven without apassenger most of the time. Moreover, many drivers have access to morethan one automobile. If one is equipped to carry passengers, it isapparent that there is less need that a second car be so equipped. Theconclusion is drawn that a small automobile, capable of low costproduction and operation because of its small size, which offers fullcomfort to its driver, which is capable of carrying long and bulkyloads, and which can instead carry a passenger with reasonable comfort,will prove to be an optimum vehicle for many automobile users. It is anobject to provide such an automobile. Another object is to provide sucha vehicle which is not only convertible from passenger to load carryingform but which is arranged so that either form can be made the usualform. A related object is to provide a vehicle which is capable ofoptimum performance for commuters and for persons who often drive aloneand may be required to transport things while driving alone. It is anobject of the invention to provide an optimum personal car.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention which willhereinafter appear are realized in part by the provision of anautomobile whose interior is characterized by a flat floor extendingover the whole of the interior, including the trunk space in thepreferred embodiment, except at the drivers position. At that position awell is formed for the drivers seat, the width of which is notcompromised despite reduction in vehicle size and which may extendbeyond the center line of the vehicle. The floorboard or deck at thepassengers side covers a well for a passenger's seat. The seat can befolded up to accommodate a passenger preferably at a position behind therearmost driving position of the drivers seat. This arrangement placesthe passengers arms and elbows behind the drivers seat so that thepassenger is afforded a reasonably comfortable space notwithstandingthat his seat well is narrower than the driver's seat well. In thepreferred embodiment, the drivers seat is adjustable to a positionrearwardly of the most rearward driving position to a point adjacent thepassengers seat so that the driver and passenger can sit together whilethe vehicle is not being driven.

In the drawings, all of which are partly schematic:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view from the top and left side of an automobileembodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the automobile of FIG. 1, portions ofthe walls and roof being broken away to expose the interior of thedriver and passenger compartment;

FIG. 3 is a fragmented perspective view of the vehicle with portions ofits walls and roof and trunk lid broken away showing the interior of thedriver and passenger compartments and the trunk compartment andillustrating the arrangement of those compartments when the passengersseat is folded away;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the automobile taken on a transverseplane through the driver and passenger compartment looking forward;

FIG. 5 is a fragmented elevational view of the right side of theautomobile shown with the passenger seat erected and the drivers seatretracted to the rearmost driving position;

FIG. 6 is a fragmented elevational view showing the left side of analternative vehicle, arranged with an elevated trunk floor toaccommodate a line differential and axle and spare tire and wheelassembly, the passenger seat having been folded away and the driversseat moved forward to an intermediate driving position; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmented view in top elevation showing the conditionillustrated in FIG. 3 from the top.

One of the attributes of the invention is that it permits wider latitudein the aesthetic design of smaller automobiles. FIG. ll illustrates thisfeature. One cannot readily discover from the proportions of the automo'bile thereshown or whether that automobile is, or is not, a full sizedpassenger vehicle. That same vehicle is illustrated in all of the otherFigures of the drawing in cluding FIG. 6 in which a standard man hasbeen drawn to provide a size reference. The specific embodiment selectedfor illustration has an overall length of 153% inches. It has a totaloverall height of fifty inches and an overall width of 64% inches. Thus,it is a very small automobile. Notwithstanding that fact, the volume ofthe driver and passenger compartment that is devoted to the driver is asgreat as it is in full sized luxury sedans. In the preferred embodimentshown in the drawings, the seat is retractable to an extreme positionrearward of the rearmost driving position. Because of this feature, thespace devoted to the driver can be, and in this preferred embodiment is,greater than the space devoted to the driver in most luxury sedans.

Notwithstanding that a large space is devoted to the driver, theinvention'provides an automobile in which a large number of articles areconveniently transported. The vehicle is provided with a passenger seatbut that seat is folded down and covered with a floor section. Inpreferred form, a portion of the floor of the passengers seat well israised so that the passenger well is entirely covered. That coverbecomes part of the floorboard which extends at uniform heightthroughout the passenger and drivers compartment except at the driversseat well. In the preferred embodiment, that compart ment is open to thetrunk compartment whose floor is continued at the same level as that ofthe floor of the driver and passenger compartment. This arrangementprovides a large, flat load carrying space. Access to that load carryingarea is had at the passengers door at the right or through the trunk lidat the rear. In this particular embodiment, the trunk lid does notextend beyond the area above the trunk. In another embodiment the lidcould be extended to include part of the rear surface of the car so thatit could be lifted to accommodate loads that extended from the rear ofthe automobile straight out from the floor.

Examination of FIGS. 1, 6 and 7 will illustrate that the use of thesmaller and less expensive trunk lid arrangementof the preferredembodiment does not seriously limit the vehicles ability to handle extralength loads. Very long articles can extend from the toeboard at thefront of the passengers position back through the driver and passengercompartment and through the trunk compartment and the open trunk lid.Thus, this automobile can accommodate the hauling of many very longarticles as well or better than a full sized, conventional automobile.Such tasks as carrying skis and a golf bag mounted on a cart and someother jobs that are accomplished only with considerable inconvenience inmany automobiles, are very easily accomplished in this automobile. Loadsneed not be lifted up and out when removed through. the passenger doorof this vehicle. Not only does the arrangement of the invention providemore than the usual load carrying space, but it provides that space in aform that permits easier loading and unloading and which also permitseasier cleaning because the floor is constructed at uniform level.

The floor design includes the upper face of the tunnel between thedrivers seat well and the passengers seat well. Advantageously, the topof the tunnel is arranged at the same level or substantially at the samelevel as the other areas of the floor. The tunnel accommodates anexhaust pipe and, in a rear wheel drive vehicle, it can accommodate thepropeller shaft. Neither the shaft nor the exhaust pipe need be mountedon the longitudinal center line of the vehicle. In the invention thetunnel is located at whatever distance from the drivers side wall of thevehicle is required to provide a drivers seat well that will insureadequate driving comfort. In the smaller automobiles the tunnel will beplaced at the passengers side of the vertical center plane of thevehicle. As illustrated'in this embodiment,

the driver's seat well may extend more than half way across the driverand passenger compartment. The passengers seat well is thus limited sothat it extends less than half way across that compartment. Adequateelbow room for the passenger is provided by mounting his seat rearwardlyof the rearmost driving position of the drivers seat. This isillustrated best in FIGS. 2 and 5. Means are provided for adjusting oneof the seats into alignment with the other. Thus, in the preferredembodiment, the drivers seat and the drivers seat well are arranged sothat the drivers seat can be retracted rearwardly of the rearmostdriving position to a position alongside the passenger seat.

The preferred embodiment is described in greater detail as follows. Inthe drawings, the numeral 10 designates the floor or storage deck of theluggage compartment of the vehicle. The numeral 12 designates the floorof the driver and passenger compartment. That floor includes the areaimmediately to the rear of the drivers seat well 14 and the passengersseat well 16. It also includes the upper surface of the tunnel 18 thatdivides the drivers seat well 14 and passengers seat well 16. In thisembodiment the floor or storage deck of the passenger compartmentextends to the region 20 behind the forward ramp 22 and it includes theupper surfaces 24 and 26 that extend over the side frame members at theoutboard side of the drivers seat well and the passengers seat well,respectively. This embodiment is arranged with a second toeboard at thepassengers side at the forward end of the well 16. This second toeboard28 is necessary because the passengers seat is positioned rearwardly toofar for the occupant to reach the forward board 22. It is arranged sothat it can be lifted to become part of the floor as illustrated inFIGS. 3 and 7. As best illustrated in FIG. 5, a means 30 is provided forholding the board 28 in the raised position when the passengers area isto be converted to a storage compartment. While in this embodiment theforward fire wall 32 is retained at the standard position in front ofthe passengers seat well so that area 20 will be available as part ofthe storage deck, it will be apparent that the fire wall could be movedrearwardly at the passenger side if there was a need to increase thesize of the engine compartment at that side. The passengers seatcomprises a lower seat cushion 34 and a back rest 36 which have a hingedconnection at hinge 38. Means are provided by which the seat cushion andback rest can be used to form the surface of the storage deck over thepassenger seat well when it is desired to convert that area tononseating use. In this embodiment there are structural elements 40 and42 formed at the bottom of the passengers seat well which serve to holdthe seat in position to form a flat floor. In this embodiment the seatand back rest are simply inverted so that the lower portion of the seatcushion 34 and the back portion of the back rest 36 extend upwardly andform the deck surface. A variety of arrangements are possible andpractical including the use of telescoping shelves that are stored withthe passenger well ramp 28, and other schemes.

The spare tire and wheel assembly is mounted vertically in the trunkspace where it fits into a well behind the drivers seat. In a frontdrive vehicle the tire and wheel assembly could easily be mounted in awell below the floor 10 of the trunk space.

In the preferred embodiment the floor of the vehicle has uniform heightthroughout both compartments. This feature presents no difficulty inpractice in the case of front wheel drive vehicles or in the case ofrear wheeldrive vehicles when the rear wheels are independentlysuspended. The designer has less freedom in the case of rear wheeldrives employing a live axle. While uniform floor level is possible,increasing floor height by a small amount in the trunk compartment ispreferred at least in very small vehicles. The increased height isneeded to accommodate vertical movement of the differential gear housingbut providing it achieves other advantages. The increased trunk floorheight permits storage of the spare wheel and tire horizontally in awell below a cover in the trunk compartment floor. Further, theprovision of a step from the lower'floor level of the driver andpassenger compartment to the higher floor level of the trunk area formsa stop to prevent rolling and excessive shifting of I loads withoutimpairing the ability to carry a surfboard, skis or other long articles.

An embodiment with increased trunk floor height is illustrated in FIG.6. The vehicle of that figurehas the same overall height and length ofthe embodiment shown in the other figures. The drivers floor is close to8 inches below the floor level of the remainder of the compartment as inthe other embodiment. The level of the trunk floor is slightly more than3 inches higher than that of the driver and passenger compartment floor.The change in elevation could be made gradually but a relatively abruptchange is preferred as an .aid to controlling and preventing load shift.

In FIG. 7, the spare tire and wheel assembly are shown mounted in avertical position. This same figure illustrates the driver and passengercompartment appearance when the passenger seat well is covered. Thetoeboard 28 is shown raised. In this case the means for holding thetoeboard up includes a pair of bolts which extend from the sides of theboard and fit into openings 3t (see FIGS. 2 and 5). The bolts arereadily retracted by afinger operated mechanism 50. Any suitablealternative may be employed.

The invention is particularly suited to vehicles of small size in whichcase the drivers seat well will extend to half or more of the width ofthe car. Nonetheless, certain of the features of the invention, hingedpassenger toeboard, covered passenger seat well, open communication fromtrunk compartment to driver-passenger compartment and others, whileespecially useful when combined with the proportionately wide driversseat well, do not depend upon inclusion of the proportionately widewell. More luxurious versions of the autornobile might be made widerthan the embodiment shown, in which case the tunnel might be centrallypositioned and the passenger seat aligned with the drivers seat.

Although I have shown and described certain specific embodiments of myinvention, I am fully aware that many modifications thereof arepossible. My invention, therefore, is not to be restricted exceptinsofar as is necessitated by the prior art.

I claim:

1. In an automobile,

a longitudinally extending vehicle body having a passenger compartmentextending across the body in its mid-region and a luggage compartment tothe rear of the passenger compartment,

the vehicle body including a drivers seat well extending from one sideof the compartment no less than half-way across the compartment and apassengers seat well extending from the opposite side of the compartmentto less than halfway across the compartment,

the vehicle body having a tunnel dividing the drivers seat well andpassengers seat well,

a raised floorboard covering the area immediately to the rear of thedrivers and passengers seat wells and the upper surface of the tunnel,

the raised floorboard also covering the edges of the passengers anddrivers seat wells and extending outwardly over the side frame membersof the vehicle body, 4

a drivers seat mounted in the drivers seat well supported on adjustablesupport means,

the adjustable support means permitting movement of the drivers seatbetween forward and rear driving positions,

a passenger seat mounted in the passengers seat well comprising a lowerseat cushion and a back rest, pivot means supporting the seat cushionand back rest for swinging movement to an inverted position in which theback of each lies in coplanar relationship to the floorboard surfacethereby to increase the load carrying area of the floorboard,

in passenger carrying condition the passenger seat mounted in thepassengers seat well lying rearwardly of the rear driving position ofthe drivers seat,

the drivers seat being movable beyond its rear driving position to aposition adjacent the passengers seat,

a platform extending into the luggage compartment from the rear edge ofthe raised floorboard to provide further load supporting area,

an auxiliary toe board positioned at the forward end of the passengersseat well in spaced relationship to the passengers seat when the latteris arranged in seat carrying condition,

and pivot means supporting the auxiliary toe board for swinging movementfrom toe board position to a coplanar position relative to thefloorboard whereby when the passengers seat cushion and backrest areinverted the passengers seat well is completely covered.

2. In an automobile,

a longitudinally extending vehicle body having a passenger compartmentextending across the body in its mid-region and a luggage compartment tothe rear of the passenger compartment,

the vehicle body including a drivers seat well extending from one sideof the compartment no less than half-way across the compartment and apassengers seat well extending from the opposite side of the compartmentto less than halfway across the compartment,

the vehicle body having a tunnel dividing the drivers seat well andpassengers seat well,

a raised floorboard covering the area immediately to the rear of thedrivers and passengers seat wells and the upper surface of the tunnel,

of the passengers seat well in spaced relationship to the passenger'sseat when the latter is arranged in seat carrying condition,

and pivot means supporting the auxiliary toe board for swinging movementfrom toe board position to a coplanar position relative to thefloorboard whereby when the passengers seat cushion and backrest areinverted the passenger's seat well is completely covered.

1. In an automobile, a longitudinally extending vehicle body having apassenger compartment extending across the body in its mid-region and aluggage compartment to the rear of the passenger compartment, thevehicle body including a driver''s seat well extending from one side ofthe compartment no less than half-way across the compartment and apassenger''s seat well extending from the opposite side of thecompartment to less than halfway across the compartment, the vehiclebody having a tunnel dividing the driver''s seat well and passenger''sseat well, a raised floorboard covering the area immediately to the rearof the driver''s and passenger''s seat wells and the upper surface ofthe tunnel, the raised floorboard also covering the edges of thepassenger''s and driver''s seat wells and extending outwardly over theside frame members of the vehicle body, a driver''s seat mounted in thedriver''s seat well supported on adjustable support means, theadjustable support means permitting movement of the driver''s seatbetween forward and rear driving positioNs, a passenger seat mounted inthe passenger''s seat well comprising a lower seat cushion and a backrest, pivot means supporting the seat cushion and back rest for swingingmovement to an inverted position in which the back of each lies incoplanar relationship to the floorboard surface thereby to increase theload carrying area of the floorboard, in passenger carrying conditionthe passenger seat mounted in the passenger''s seat well lyingrearwardly of the rear driving position of the driver''s seat, thedriver''s seat being movable beyond its rear driving position to aposition adjacent the passenger''s seat, a platform extending into theluggage compartment from the rear edge of the raised floorboard toprovide further load supporting area, an auxiliary toe board positionedat the forward end of the passenger''s seat well in spaced relationshipto the passenger''s seat when the latter is arranged in seat carryingcondition, and pivot means supporting the auxiliary toe board forswinging movement from toe board position to a coplanar positionrelative to the floorboard whereby when the passenger''s seat cushionand backrest are inverted the passenger''s seat well is completelycovered.
 2. In an automobile, a longitudinally extending vehicle bodyhaving a passenger compartment extending across the body in itsmid-region and a luggage compartment to the rear of the passengercompartment, the vehicle body including a driver''s seat well extendingfrom one side of the compartment no less than half-way across thecompartment and a passenger''s seat well extending from the oppositeside of the compartment to less than halfway across the compartment, thevehicle body having a tunnel dividing the driver''s seat well andpassenger''s seat well, a raised floorboard covering the areaimmediately to the rear of the driver''s and passenger''s seat wells andthe upper surface of the tunnel, a passenger seat mounted in thepassenger''s seat well comprising a lower seat cushion and a backrest,pivot means supporting the seat cushion and backrest for swingingmovement to an inverted position in which the back of each lies incoplanar relationship to the floorboard surface thereby to increase theload carrying area of the floorboard, a platform extending into theluggage compartment from the rear edge of the raised floorboard toprovide further load supporting area, an auxiliary toe board positionedat the forward end of the passenger''s seat well in spaced relationshipto the passenger''s seat when the latter is arranged in seat carryingcondition, and pivot means supporting the auxiliary toe board forswinging movement from toe board position to a coplanar positionrelative to the floorboard whereby when the passenger''s seat cushionand backrest are inverted the passenger''s seat well is completelycovered.